Sasuke the Latte Boy
by dreamscapenymph
Summary: bring me java, bring me joy, oh Sasuke the Latte Boy! I love you I love you I love you. or so the song is supposed to go.  /shamelessly AU, FORMAT EDIT for first few chapters/
1. Chapter 1

/has someone already done this? gosh, Cheno and this song is...awesome. and funny! :)

oh, and warning: my sasukes are…a bit ooc. i try, but he's not as cold as i'd want him to be. BOO./

disclaimer: i am just a poor scholarship student with no monies to buy kishimoto out of naruto, or the number of sharingan-eyed kiddies that canon sasusaku have made would be too many to count by now.

* * *

Sasuke the Latte Boy

_There's a boy who works at Starbucks_

_Who is very inspirational._

_He is very inspirational because of many things._

If Naruto was to ramen, Sakura was to coffee.

The amount of coffee that regular medical students were compelled to inhale was insane; it was teetering on the edge of unhealthy that it was hypocritical already. And since Sakura was an intelligent, and more fastidiously so than regular medical students, she consumed more. Especially that day—she was already on the line for her second double latte, (never mind the idiots who said it wasn't true coffee, _I like it, it works for me, get the hell out of my personal space_, her mind snarled) and it was just _freaking _eight eleven in the morning.

She's only had an hour of sleep because of a paper relating human gene mutations to diseases and a practical exam about _every _muscle in the human body. Her head pounded and to top it off, the line in the Starbucks nearest her med school was freakishly long, that's why she decided to go to this other Starbucks located at the other end of the street. _Why oh why did I decide to become a doctor again? And where's my f—king coffee?_

Haruno Sakura was _not_ in the best of moods.

And added to that, when she came to the head of the line, the _nicer!_cashier was replaced by a grumpy boy who looked generally angry and aggravated at the world.

(never mind that he was one of the hottest male specimens her medical eye had ever encountered. and yes that was just her medical eye noting that not, her physical eye! lamest alibi to the increased pounding of her heart. that just increased the pounding in her head, too. _a__h, hell_.)

She raised her eyebrows when he just grunted at her, no greeting whatsoever.

(but oh, the actions do fit his stereotype: sexy, mysterious and frustrated. the inner sakura that has been quiet for days now, well when she finished marathon-ing True Blood anyway, drooled.)

Taking a deep breath she said, "venti double latte."

He raised his own eyebrow, and Sakura was once more hit with the accusations of _latte is not coffee! latte is not coffee!,_ her head literally being bombarded by maces, hammers and numerous arsenals of whatnot that Tenten obsessed over, just because of that one look.

"Fine, add a shot of espresso." She couldn't help but snap at him.

Again, he just raised a brow

(how does he do that without looking gay?)

and rang her order.

"Name?"

_Ah, he speaks. _

"Sakura."

Without another word he went to prepare her order.

She rolled her eyes upwards.

Then she caught her reflection and groaned—she was looking as haggard as a walrus left in the desert without food and water for weeks. And she sucked at similes.

(cutefrustrated!guy saw her haggard! ! ! ! ino is so going to have a field day when she hears this.)

Her whole countenance sagged. The heavens were conspiring against her.


	2. Chapter 2

_I come in at 8:11, and he smiles and says, "How are you?"_

_When he smiles and says, "How are you?"_

_I could swear my heart grows wings!_

_Oh, what I would do to prolong this peace,_ Sakura thought, as she sauntered carelessly on the street, swinging her shoulder bag back and forth. It wasn't as heavy as yesterday. Today it was void of bound papers and nine-hundred-page books about the human muscles.

Today was also the day that Ino forgot to text her the usual morning greeting of 'FOREHEAD WAKEY WAKEY!' (to which Sakura replied with the usual 'get out of your hibernation cave, BOAR'), and while she usually enjoyed the mindless phone banter that accompanied the twenty-three-year friendship, she could easily appreciate a day without one. Aside from that, her hodgepodge of cousins was still sleeping when she left her apartment. Naruto, Shikamaru and Tenten were half-siblings and her cousins for so long that she didn't know who was really related to each other anymore. Anyway, they had crashed into her apartment at three in the morning, after a smashin' party (or so the drunk Naruto had announced) and promptly found places to sleep in on her living room. The doctor-in-training Sakura couldn't help but shake her head at the amount of alcohol they imbibed, and prepared Aspirin and glasses of water right where they could see it. She missed them, though, and couldn't wait to hear the news from home (and of course, the reason why they were here when they were supposed to be at their schools).

_Ah, life is good_.

It was on a whim that she visited the same Starbucks she did yesterday (_not_ for cutefrustrated!guy! or so she convinced herself, Inner Sakura was cackling like a mad, stoned witch).

It was exactly eight eleven; she noticed absentmindedly, tilting her head at the digital clock on the wall. She stood in line, and lo and behold, cutefrustrated!guy (as she had branded him in her head) was the one grumpily ringing up everyone's orders.

_It should be hot, mysterious, predictable guy, _Sakura thought, as he grunted at her again.

"Venti double latte, Sakura," she intoned, almost bored, tempted to examine her fingernails. She shouldn't have done that, she belatedly realized, since she couldn't hear his (hothothot_not!_) voice anymore. Inner Sakura despaired as the outer one gazed forlornly at the direction of the machines—

-to find out that cutefrustrated!guy was still at the cashier and not writing her name and whatnot in a cup. He was raising an eyebrow at her.

So she raised an eyebrow back (_dude!_ what else was she supposed to do?).

He grunted and said, "No shot of espresso today?"

Needless to say, Sakura was shocked. _He remembers me? Cutefrustrated!guy remembers me?_ She resisted the urge to march up to his face and poke her forefinger on her chest saying _me me me me?_

"Couldn't help but remember someone looking as stressed as you."

He smirked at her widened eyes, and Sakura straightened and cleared her throat, trying to smother the fury that threatened to come out of her chest like a caged, enraged lion. "Nope."

He shrugged. And that was that.

_The nerve!_

Her happyhappyjoyjoy day was now ruined! As she was marching out of the coffee shop and into class she pulled out her phone and texted Ino.


	3. Chapter 3

_So today at 8:11_

_I decided I should meet him_

_I decided I should meet him_

_In a proper formal way._

The Starbucks at the other end of the street was fast becoming her refuge place. The line at the other coffee shop was just…_so long_, that it was more practical to just go to the other one.

(And to silence her Inner that was going _if I can't have True Blood I need cutefrustrated! guy! _Even if she hated him. Somewhat.)

For the third time that week, Sakura sauntered inside the coffee shop at exactly eight eleven in the morning, and inwardly congratulated herself for her preciseness.

And cutefrustratedpredictable! guy never failed to deliver. He was there at the counter, seemingly waiting for her to order her double latte. Which she did.

"Double latte, Sakura, no espresso shot." She smiled at the world in general. After all, things at school weren't as hectic as usual, and she could relax. (Even if she was still smarting from cutefrustratedpredictable!guy's comments yesterday.)

_Oh how I love you world! And Tsunade-sensei who has given me time off from thesis work!_

But as mentioned, cutefrustrated! guy never failed to deliver. He grunted at her.

_But today I won't be allowing you to get on my nerves! _She smirked triumphantly at him and continued her silent albeit joyful reverie.

He took off to make her coffee, and Sakura wondered why his stint at the cashier always ended after her order. But she didn't let it bother her much, as she made a new discovery.

The target's name was Sasuke. (Note: it was her Inner who was calling him the target!)

She had noticed the name on his skewed nametag, and repressed the urge to straighten it and at the same time do the hula at the center of the store. Instead, she grabbed the double latte he had set out for her, still continuing to smile.

She slipped out her phone again, and texted Ino. _You will never guess what I discovered, Pig…_


	4. Chapter 4

_So today at 8:11 when he smiled and said, "How are you?"_

_I said, "Fine, and my name's Sakura"_

_And he softly answered, "Hey."_

_And I said, "My name is Sakura, and thank you for the extra foam…"_

_And he said his name was Sasuke,_

_Which provides the inspiration for this poem:

* * *

_

"He's pretty hot." Ino commented, as they took their seats in squishy armchairs in a corner booth.

Sakura groaned. "Why are you with me again?"

Ino just looked at her and wiggled her eyebrows, "Because I'm curious about this new guy you got here. Because, Forehead, whenever you tell me you like someone, it always turns out to be one heck of a funny story. Remember Sai? He—"

"Ino! I'd rather not. Besides, he was four years ago, when I was still—"

"Wide-eyed and innocent-faced."

"Well, yes, but don't put in that way. Okay?"

"Whatever," Ino leaned forward in her seat. "So, do you know each other yet?"

"I saw his nametag, and he writes my name in a cup practically every day now. Does that count?"

Ino was shaking her head, "No! Sakura, you have to introduce yourself to him, so that he knows you're not just some other customer that he needn't bother to remember the name of!"

Sakura was fiddling with her fingers, "But what if I don't want to _know_ him know him? What if I'm just content to sit by the sidelines and watch—"

"This is exactly why you need me, Forehead. Your love life would be as bland as my mother's cakes without me!"

Sakura couldn't help but agree. Mrs. Yamanaka's cakes were famous for being tasteless that even the food-guzzling Naruto wouldn't go near them. And it was true, that without Ino and her daredevil ways, Sakura would be as homely as the country mouse in that bedtime story.

"Fine."

"Alright!"

"Ino-pig, put your fist down and lower your voice."

"You're _such_ a party pooper, Sakura. Anyway, here's what you do. When he takes your order, you introduce yourself to him—don't forget the bat-your-eyelashes-perfectly lessons, Sakura—and, and…" Ino's eyes lit up, "tell him thank you for the extra foam!"

"Why?" Sakura looked exasperated.

"So that he'll add extra foam for free! It's called reverse psychology whatsamajiggy, you should know that with that big forehead of yours, and he'll tell you what his name is, as courtesy, because you told him yours!"

"I don't think reverse psychology would work though, Pig." Sakura replied dryly, folding her hands across her chest and leaning back on the chair. "And what if I don't do it? I told you I'm content to watch."

"If you don't do it, I'll tell everyone about the time when you and I sneaked into a bar a month before high school gradua—"

"Fine, fine! Pig, you aren't going to tell anybody that, nor any other secret, okay? I cannot believe I am doing this." Sakura stood up. She glared at Ino for measure before striding towards the counter where cutefrustrateted! guy—ahem, Sasuke—was lounging around. Her so-called best friend, she noticed, was grinning with ill-suppressed glee.

She wouldn't drag her feet, Sakura resolved, and instead, sauntered towards the cashiers. She noted absent-mindedly that it was eight eleven again.

Sasuke grunted at her, and Sakura resisted the tempting urge to roll her eyes.

"Venti double latte, Sakura."

He nodded and wrote down her name in a cup, "No shot of espresso, right?"

"Nope."

This was it. Sakura took a deep breath and said, "Uh, hi, my name's Sakura."

He stopped writing on the cup to look at her with an eyebrow raised, "Yes, I know you're Sakura." He was pointing to the name he wrote in her cup.

"Uh, well, yeah. Um—thanks for the extra foam." Sakura couldn't help but want to bang her head on the cash register. Once the words were out of her mouth she instantly knew they were stupid! _So much for listening to Ino the peabrain!_ She wanted to wonder where her neurons had gone.

"You want extra foam? You'd be paying extra."

"Uh, sure." She put out a few extra coins on the counter then cringed slightly. He was looking at her as if she was a lunatic.

_Great, now I'm branded as a stressed lunatic_.

He carried her cup over to the coffee machines and once again she wondered why he didn't just pass the cup to the two other guys. She watched him make the coffee and bring it to her.

"Here you go, your usual with the extra foam."

"Thanks," she said, taking the cup. She was starting to turn around when she noticed he was still looking at her.

"Yes?"

"I'm Sasuke." He said in a quiet voice, and then turned to walk to the employee's door behind the counter.

Sakura froze for a minute, and then turned to slowly walk back to Ino.

"Well?" Her friend's earnest face greeted her.

"He told me his name."

This was a considerable development.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sasuke the latte boy,_

_Bring me java, bring me joy!_

_Oh Sasuke the latte boy,_

_I love him, I love him, I love him…_

_

* * *

_

Sakura was still in quiet shock for a long time that Ino had given up waving her hands in front of her face and telling her that her latte had gone cold. Instead, she took the other girl's pen and started to scribble on an unused napkin.

When Sakura came to, Ino was smoothing the napkin and looking pleased with herself.

"What are you doing, Ino-pig?"

"Look at my masterpiece, Sakura," She pushed the napkin to her side of the table and grinned.

"Read it."

Sakura did, and her face started to flame. "What in Kami-sama's name are you trying to do to me, Boar? Are you deliberately humiliating me? I swear that you do more damage than good! Throw that napkin away!"

Sakura was reaching for the napkin but Ino snatched it away.

"I told you this was my masterpiece, Forehead! It's not often I write a poem, you know. I'll keep it for you."

Sakura glared at her and huffed, "Don't leave it here okay? _He_ shouldn't see it."

Ino rolled her eyes, "Fine, Forehead."

Thirty minutes later, they left the café, but not before Ino surreptitiously left the napkin with the poem on the table.

As luck would have it, a worker who knew Sasuke picked up the poem, and the tissue passed hands until it reached the person whom the poem was named after.


	6. Chapter 6

_So I'd like to get my nerve up_

_To recite my poem musical._

_He would like the fact it's musical_

_Because he plays guitar._

_So today at 8:11, Sasuke told me he was playing_

_In a band down in the village in the basement of a bar._

_

* * *

_

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura moved an inch to the right just seconds before Naruto landed on the place where she was sitting before.

"Oww! That hurt, Sakura-chan! It's lucky I've had a lot of practice landing over the years." He grinned at her, rubbing the top of his head.

"She's also had a lot of practice dodging your glomps." His older sister, Tenten, said from the doorway of the living room. Sakura smiled up at her from her perch in the arm of the couch.

"Nee-san, you're too cruel."

"Don't call me nee-san." Tenten answered Naruto automatically. "I'm really sorry about him, Sakura. I promise we won't be here anymore after the two weeks are up."

Sakura shook her head, "It's fine. My apartment might be small, but the two of us fit in my bed, and the boys are fairly comfortable in the living room. What happened anyway? I never got to ask."

Tenten glared at Naruto before answering her younger cousin's question. "Naruto's idiocy. What else?"

Naruto protested again, but the older girl silenced him with a glare. "Right before we left to go marathon-partying—it was a blast, you should have come with us—Naruto ate ramen, and left the open boxes littering our apartment. When we returned the apartment was already infested with flies and insects and rodents that _it was so disgusting_. It was about four in the morning, mind you, when we called emergency and the pest control company, and we didn't have anywhere else to go, so we went here."

Sakura wrinkled her nose at Naruto, "I'm not going to ask why you're such a slob because you're Naruto after all,"—

"That's cruel, too, Sakura-chan!"

—"but I cant help but blame you." She turned to Tenten, "Why weren't you there to control him anyway?"

Tenten shrugged, "Shikamaru and I weren't there, we just met with Naruto outside before starting the marathon party."

Sakura sent a withering glance at Naruto, "I cannot believe we're the same age."

Naruto laughed self-consciously. "Hey, I'm in a band now, you know, and we're earning some big bucks, so you can't tell me I'm still a kid."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "He got sacked again. Mom and Dad call him a free spirit but me and Shika just think he's wild."

"Hey! Don't talk to me as if I'm not here! To prove it, I'm inviting all of you—that also includes Shikamaru—to a gig! We're playing this Saturday, at the basement of the Ichiraku Bar.

"Ichiraku? Isn't that your favorite ramen restaurant?"

"Yeah! It has an underground bar now, isn't that amazing! And we're going to be playing there, so its gonna be more amazinggg!"

"Yes, yes, Naruto, here's some money, go buy some instant ramen." Tenten said in a bored tone, tossing over a bill to Naruto, who whipped it out in mid-air and ran outside the door, all the while screaming, "You're amazing, Nee-san!"

"Don't call me Nee-san!" Tenten hollered after him.

"Is he some…rabid dog?" Sakura asked Tenten, shaking her head at where her cousin had gone.

Tenten laughed, "Don't you start with that, we might take all day wondering about what he exactly is."

"But we adore him the way he is, anyway."

The both of them smiled at each other in agreement.

* * *

_I'm late for Naruto's gig! _Sakura thought, as she dashed out of the subway and into the streets. She was rushing so much that she failed to see a hulking figure in front of her, and slammed into him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Sakura raised her eyes after noting the guitar strapped to the person's back…to see that it was _him._ Cutefrustrated! Guy. Or Latte Boy, as Ino had dubbed. (Really, let's just go with the latter nickname—it's easier!)

His eyebrows were raised at her.

"Oh, uh, hi!" Sakura couldn't help the redness that had enveloped her cheeks. Then she felt her phone buzz. "Oh no!" She exclaimed, "I have to go! Bye! Uh, sorry again!" And off she ran, waving a little at Latt—Sasuke. Who was just staring after her.

_That was embarrassing. _

In the darkness, she hadn't noticed that his ears were tinged with red.

* * *

She ducked into the awning of a closed store, trying to look for the bar.

"Sakura!"

She turned around to see Shikamaru waving at her from a darkened alleyway.

"What took you so long?"

"Couldn't find the freaking underground bar. That's not underground anyway." She grumbled at her cousin, who just laughed and took a hand out of his pocket to place an arm around her shoulder.

"Thanks. It's cold."

"Don't I know you and your cold constitution."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Are they starting?"

"Nope, you know how late these stuff start."

"Good. Where's Tenten anyway?"

Shikamaru wrinkled his nose. "Boyfriend."

Sakura laughed, Tenten's boyfriend was of the uptight type, and she would have thought that he and Shikamaru would've gotten along, but they didn't. She had no idea why.

* * *

For a newly opened bar, the place was bustling with activity. They had left their coats at the lockers, and Shikamaru had an arm placed around her shoulder again. Sakura rolled her eyes, he had once told her that that was his place of glory, being significantly taller than her.

"Wow," Sakura said.

"Apparently everyone who's ever eaten at the ramen place is here."

"Or everyone who knows Naruto."

Shikamaru laughed, "Yes, we know how many friends that brother of mine has."

She grinned up at him, before her eyes caught a shock of blond hair. "There they are!"

"Sakura-chan! You're HERE! I'll introduce you to my band mates." Naruto was jumping up and down, up and down. When the two of them reached him at the bar, he motioned to the others who were ordering drinks.

Sakura froze. Latte B—_Sasuke_—was there. And he looked as surprised at seeing her, too.

"This here's Kiba, drums, Shino on keyboard, Lee, guitars and Sasuke with the bass. Everybody meet Sakura-chan!"

Sakura barely heard Naruto's voice—her eyes were locked with Sasuke's. She belatedly noted that she was getting his name right, now.

"Sakura?"

And Shikamaru's arm was still at her shoulder. She looked up at him, surprised, and back at Sasuke, whose gaze had cooled, and was now looking at the stage and taking a sip of his drink.

"Uh, hi everyone."

Amidst Lee's boisterous fawning (she hadn't any idea how the _green_-suited guy would take a liking to her), Naruto's flailing around, Kiba's grins (she suspected his energy was at par with Naruto, he just seemed a bit…calmer) and Shino's silent stares, she could only focus on Sasuke, who was still looking at the stage and ignoring everybody. _Especially her?_

There was a shout, and Naruto said, "Hey, we're uppp!" He waved at Sakura and Shikamaru, and began to herd his friends on to the stage.

"So. Ino told me something."

Sakura's head shot up to Shikamaru's again. Her best friend and her cousin were in this stage of unresolved sexual tension, _and why won't they just get together anyway_?

"Yeah?"

"That there was this latte boy—" Sakura cringed, she could feel her face heating up, "—named Sasuke. That you liked."

She bit her lip before answering, "Um. He's just a happy crush okay?"

"That same Sasuke over there?"

She nodded.

Shikamaru inclined his head, "I have doubts about that happy crush thing, though."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, because that's what you and Ino-Pig have for each other."

He glared at her, and then gestured towards the stage, "He's been glaring at me ever since he saw me with you tonight. He was civil before he saw me with an arm around you."

"Well? I'm cold!" Sakura exclaimed, but she couldn't help the bubble of hope that had started in her chest.

"Irrelevant."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"He's jealous."

"No—"

"Watch him."

Shikamaru leaned towards her.

"What are you doing, Shika—"

And whispered something at her ear.

Sakura turned into a fierce red, then slapped her cousin's arm, "Yes, he is now!"

Shikamaru grinned and whistled, ordering his drink and hers.

"_He's glaring at us right now, isn't he, Sakura-chan?"

* * *

_

Sasuke was glaring at them so much that he botched up their whole performance. The latter part was what Naruto was wailing about. The former was what Shikamaru was smirking about. Sakura felt herself torn between two worlds. She couldn't very well explain that she and Shikamaru were just really close cousins, right? As if he would care. But why was he still glaring, though?

"Shika, I swear, I will sic Ino-Pig on you."

Her cousin looked mildly perturbed, even though he answered, "I think she will be happy with what I did, though."

Her glare at him intensified.

"Sakura-chan! I need to be comforted! Sasuke-teme destroyed our first performance!" Naruto cried, and hurled himself at her. For once Sakura let him, and tapped him on the back lightly as he mock-teared on her shoulder.

"Dobe," was Sasuke's only reply, and Sakura couldn't help but agree. _And_ Naruto was becoming too comfortable on her shoulder, that she turned pleading eyes to Shikamaru. The latter also noticed that Sasuke was pointing flinty eyes at the ridiculous blond.

He grinned, and hauled Naruto out of Sakura's arms. "Let Sakura-chan go, Naruto. Don't give our cousin more trouble than you've already given her."

Sakura could practically hear all four heads snap towards their direction, but it was Lee who skipped towards her in obvious joy, "You're cousins, Sakura-san, Shikamaru-san? I thought the two of you were together!"

Sakura nodded weakly, as she saw a future full of warding off this man's unwelcomed advances.

But she also couldn't help but smile at the familiar smirk that was in Sasuke's face.

Later in the night, when she accused Ino through the phone, all the other girl could say in between the laughter was, "He _so_ totally likes you!" and that, "you should sing that table napkin poem to him, too, Sakura-chan!" to which Sakura replied with a fervent, "NO, Ino-Pig."


	7. Chapter 7

_And he smoothly flipped the lever to prepare my double latte,_

_But for me he made it triple! And he didn't think I knew,_

_But I saw him flip the lever, and for me he made it triple,_

_And I knew that triple latte meant that Taylor loved me too!_

_I said, "What time are you playing? And thank you for the extra skim…"_

_He said, "Keep the $3.55," because this triple latte was on him._

_

* * *

_

The next time she saw him was on Wednesday of the next week. She had avoided the Starbucks for two days, afraid of seeing him, afraid of his reaction, afraid of _everything_. But that was before Ino had found out and had threatened bodily harm on her and her immediate family if she didn't go traipsing to the Latte Boy. Never had Sakura seen a very scary, very determined Ino, that she had just nodded and robot-marched into the direction her best friend had pointed into.

She couldn't help but note that _once more_, it was eight eleven in the morning. And she was looking haggard, as usual. _And_ Sasuke was there, leaning at the counter, although he straightened up the moment he saw her push open the door.

She sent a weak smile at him, "Hi. Venti double latte. Sakura."

"I know."

He had pulled out a cup from under the counter and went to the coffee making machines. He hadn't even written anything on it yet, but Sakura saw that there were already scribbles on it. She watched him flip the lever once, twice…thrice. Stunned, she waited as he pulled on a cover, grabbed a straw, and placed it in front of her.

She blinked at the drink. "Um. I haven't paid yet."

"Hn," he grunted, as if what she said was the most normal thing in the world.

"I also asked for a double latte, not a triple one."

"Hn. I heard you."

Sakura really wanted to stop herself from rolling her eyes, _really she did_, but that display of arrogance was just too much. She heard him sigh.

"The coffee's on the house, Sakura."

That was as effective as any other blatant dismissal.

"Uh, thanks." She took the cup and the straw and began to walk.

"…and."

She stopped when she heard his voice. And she hadn't expected him to be someone who stuttered. She turned to look at him to see that he had a small tint of pink on his cheeks. His ears were already red and raw. She smiled slightly.

"Thanks for watching our band play last Saturday."

She nodded at him again, her smile widening. "Thanks for the coffee, too."

They smiled at each other, before Sakura nodded and went out.

Imagine her horror when she found out that the napkin he had given her was the one that Ino had used to write her 'poem.'

Sakura's face flamed in embarrassment, before she noticed something else written on the cup:

_Sakura the latte girl,  
Will you go out with me?  
(Don't you dare make me say it again.  
I'll see you tomorrow morning at eight eleven.)_

Sakura turned pink at first, then she laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

_I used to be the kind of girl who'd run when love rushed towards her._

_But finally a voice whispered "Love can be yours, if you step up to the counter, and order."_

_

* * *

_

"So? He got the poem I wrote? And you're going on a date! Forehead, congratulations! I am _so_ your heaven sent! If I hadn't written that lovely lovely poem, where would you be right now? Huh, where?" Ino was flitting around Sakura, as they paved their way into the Starbucks where Sakura was fast becoming a regular.

"Nowhere, Pig, nowhere." Sakura rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Really, why don't you go fix your own love life instead of mine?"

Ino wrinkled her nose, "I have no love life."

"Yes, Ino," Sakura began sarcastically. "And Naruto is the quietest boy I know. What is the dirt between you and my cousin, now, huh?"

She didn't miss the slight pink that dusted the blonde's cheeks. "Nothing! I told you, me and Shika are just friends."

Sakura grinned, "So you just assumed it was Shikamaru? Maybe I meant Naruto by 'my cousin'."

She saw Ino's face flush a brighter red and she hurriedly stepped away from her, at times like this, Ino was apt to swing her handbag at the person teasing her.

Which she did. The purple handbag was mere inches off her face as she laughed at Ino, then ran the last few steps into the coffee shop.

An action that Sakura regretted immensely. There she was, hair disheveled and clothes askew, carrying her handbag, a canvas bag for all of her papers and books, and two folders stacked in her right hand. And Latt—_Sasuke_—was staring at her. Her eyes widened as she raised a hand to tidy up her unruly hair, only to get hit in the face by the sharp edge of the folder.

"Owww…"

"Hah! Serves you right, Forehead!" Ino had caught up on her.

Sakura raised up her eyes—Sasuke was smirking at her. _Not a happy situation here, people!_ She scowled at Ino, then at Sasuke, who was still smirking, then stomped towards a free table, refusing to order first. Ino, cackling gleefully, skipped towards Sasuke and the counter.

Her smile widened when she saw that the boy was frowning and shooting worried looks at Sakura (albeit he _was _very subtle about it), who still had her nose stuck up in the air.

"She's stressed again?"

Ino grinned at him. _Sakura wasn't joking when she told me about the awful things that come out of his pretty mouth_. But she knew what the Latte Boy really meant. Being around dense guys—_note: Naruto. Not the other one._—made her privy to some of the workings of the eternally complex male mind. Or perhaps their minds were just too simple that the eternally complex female minds had difficulty figuring them out? Either way, she told him, "Don't worry, she'll be fine. She's just regressing a bit. She'll be ordering in a few, just wait for her."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit, and he said, "I'm not asking if she's fine, I'm asking—"

"Yeah, yeah, just get me a mocha frappe," Ino cut him off, because _honestly stop being in denial around me, the best friend, already. I know the dirt on the two of you, buddy._

He grunted at her, and she knew he was displeased with her. But she just grinned at him again, because she saw him shoot another glance at the pink-haired girl sitting on the table near the floor-length glass windows.

Ino was smirking when she reached their table, and though Sakura was itching to ask her what she and Sasuke talked about (for she could see them talking earlier. _And si__nce when did Sasuke talk?_), she resisted. _And_ Ino was still smirking. Sakura wanted to get a windshield wiper and expunge that insulting face expression from her best friend.

She told her so, and felt wickedly happy at the horror that overcame her friend's face.

"S-Sakura-chan!"

Sakura made a face at Ino and laughed at her, "See, I _am _as evil as you, Ino-chan."

They laughed.

* * *

Eventually, Sakura did order. Apparently her need for caffeine overpowered her pride. _That sounded…twisted. Caffeine over pride, hah!_

Sakura marched to the counter just in time to hear Sasuke say, "You're late."

"Excuse me?"

"You're late. It's eight twenty five."

She was still staring at him.

He sighed, "You always order at eight eleven. You made me extend my shift more. And you made me wait last Monday and Tuesday."

"Wha—" Then something clicked when she saw that the tips of his ears were once again a fierce red, "You knew what time I ordered."

"Hn."

"And—correct me if I'm assuming too much here, huh—you extended your shift just to wait for me every morning?"

A grunt in the affirmative.

_Well, who could help the girl with pink hair who was blushing into the roots of her hair, please? And the guy who's speaking a lot this morning? Whose ears are now bordering on scarlet?_

_So that was why I was always his last order_, Sakura thought, _and I never thought I could blush this much!_

"Uh, thanks."

She was grinning so much, and he was looking at anywhere but her.

"Double latte, right?"

She smiled at him in the affirmative. His ears were still blushing something fierce and his jaw was also clenched, _so cute_. She had a feeling that with the both of them so red, they could be used as base paints for a gigantic heart for next year's Valentine's Day.

And it also didn't help, that right after he handed her the cup he whispered, "See you tomorrow."

When she returned to a now grinning Ino, she giggled.

"Well?" Her friend asked.

Sakura just nodded.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you! This is true love! True love! This will make you forget about the Sai debacle—"

"Ino-Pig shut up."

The blonde sighed, and then grinned, "Here, I made you another poem. See? See? This fits you perfectly: 'I used to be the kind of girl who'd run when love rushed towards her. But finally a voice whispered "Love can be yours, if you step up to the counter, and order.' That oh so holy so angelic voice is me, Forehead!"

"Yeah, yeah, Pig."

"Call me talented!"

"Yeah, yeah, Pig."

* * *

/and we're near the end. we're wrapping this up tomorrow, and that's it. it was nice being with all of you folks!

oh, and i'm just editing the first few chapters. so don't get shocked with all of the updates you could get. :)/


	9. Chapter 9

_Sasuke, the latte boy,_

_Bring me java, bring me joy,_

_Oh Sasuke, the latte boy,_

_I love him, I love him, I love him._

_

* * *

_

The cup for Friday had his number on it. And a message saying, _See you tomorrow at eleven, at the huge elephant bench._

Sakura surreptitiously left her number on an unused napkin, and under the guise of asking him for more whipped cream, left it on his palm. She could see the corners of his mouth lift a little once he felt the paper pressed into his palm.

She wondered if they were together already or what, but then decided that for the meantime it didn't matter, and would wait until tomorrow, Saturday, to know whatever it is they are.

She could hardly wait.

* * *

_So many years my heart has waited,_

_Who'd have thought that love could be so caffeinated?_

_

* * *

_

"Hi! I'm not late, right?" Sakura asked, panting a bit.

He smiled at her, and Sakura thought she was going to have a heart attack right then and there because_ how could this guy not smile when he looks like that when he smiles? Sadfgdgs IAMINCOHERENT._

"No," he told her, before taking her hand and leading her away.

_-kdjsfghksl!_

"So where are we going?" Sakura managed to croak out.

His smile widened. "To get your daily double latte."

_! ! !_

_He is so like a sheep in a wolf's clothing!_

_

* * *

_

_Sasuke, the latte boy,_

_I love him, I love him, I love him._

_I love him, I love him, I love him._

_

* * *

_

"_Huh."_

"_Sakura? What are you doing standing in front of a music poster."_

"_Ino's such a liar."_

"_What does that poster about some short, blonde singer have to do with Ino?"_

"_She told me the poem was an original."_

"_What?"_

"…_Sasuke the Latte Boy, Sasuke-kun."_

"_Wha—oh."_

"_See? She just changed the lyrics—what a liar. And here she's claiming she's the one who got us together. Pig, you're going to die!"_

"_Uh, Sakura. Calm down."_


End file.
